Chip Hughes of RE/MAX Hills & Valley in Branchburg, New Jersey and owner of BranchBlog, a blog dedicated to real estate trends, community events and other stuff happening in Branchburg NJ has been one of my clients for many years. Chip came on board with VirtuAllin in early 2003, back when nearly all of our clients were RE/MAX of New Jersey clients. VirtuAllin's second client ever was Mark Schilling, Information Technology Manager for the New Jersey Region of RE/MAX. He loved our work so much that he recommended us to all of their (then approximately 2500) agents.

I'm thrilled at the opportunity to interview Chip and get his perspective on Virtual Assistance.

Tell us a little about yourself and your history in real estate.

I've been in real estate for ten years now...seven as broker/owner of my company. Prior to that, I spent the better part of 20 years in all aspects of the high-end foodservice industry: as a chef, wine importer, consultant, and all-around troubleshooter. Lots of long hours, hot kitchens, living in airplanes and dealing with strange people and stranger ideas. After years of conceptualizing deals and putting them together, I finally realized that fine dining is essentially a super-high-risk business with the skinniest of margins. And, deal after deal, the people who were making the big bucks were inevitably the real estate guys. So, when my second child was born- and I realized that my oldest child really didn't know me- I decided to join the real estate guys.

How did you hear about Virtual Assistants?

I went to a seminar at which Michael Russer was a speaker. After hearing him speak for five minutes, I was intrigued.

How did you begin your search for a VA and what was the process like?

Honestly, I didn't search at all. Michael started talking about Cheryl and basically said that she was the definition of what a good VA is about. That was enough recommendation for me. I e-mailed Cheryl the next day, and she's been doing my VA stuff ever since.

What made you decide to work with us?

Cheryl turned out my first job just the way I wanted it. I don't even remember what the project was; but, I do remember that it was the kind of thing that would've taken me a week or two to do on my own and driven me nuts in the process. After that experience, I decided to give her any project that came my way that would require me to do something I don't know how to do.

Ha ha, that first job was the custom graphic menu on the homepage of your website - we've since redone it, but it's probably in need of a refresh. <grin>

Tell us what it’s been like working with VirtuAllin so far – the best and the worst (it’s okay, be honest!) How has the reality compared to your initial concepts of how it would work?

To be honest, there hasn't been a "worst". It's gone very well. Anytime I have a job that's outside my area of expertise, I gather info, e-mail it to Cheryl, follow it with a phone call if there's some detail involved, then forget about it. A few days later, I get back a finished piece of work, just the way I wanted it...sometimes, even better than what I had envisioned. I now refer to Virtuallin as the part of my brain that I'm missing.

What advice do you have for prospective Virtual Assistant users who are sitting on the fence?

Do it. There is so little at risk to put a VA to the test, it's crazy not to try it. You're not investing in an employee, with salaries, benefits and taxes to be paid. Everything can be done on an ad hoc basis; and since you've engaged an independent contractor, even if you're not satisfied, you haven't lost the massive investment that you would had you hired a W-2 employee.

Fantastic advice! Any parting shots? Additional comments you would like to add?

One of the best benefits, for me, of having a VA is that it's forced me to put a value on my personal time and effort. Every time I'm faced with a task I'm not sure I can do, the first question I ask myself is "what is my time worth, and is it worth my time to learn how to do this?". Invariably, the answer is "no". I'm not a techie, I'm not a geek, and at my advanced age, this is probably not going to change. So, I hand off things I cannot do well to Cheryl, and it frees me up to have all the time I need to do the things I do well. My clients are better for it, and so am I.

I want to thank Chip for taking time out of his busy day to talk with us about his experiences working with a Real Estate Virtual Assistant. Be sure to check out Chip's Blog, website and his Rotary Club charity work at Trima Machine Drive and let us know what you think in the comments!

Do you have questions about Virtual Assistance or tips for other readers? Please comment below!